tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post3442193746051107463..comments2024-03-13T21:26:03.011-07:00Comments on Right on the Left Coast: Views From a Conservative Teacher: "Fixing" Urban EducationDarrenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15730642770935985796noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-81097321257095111942009-02-10T10:44:00.000-08:002009-02-10T10:44:00.000-08:00...or a focus that's purposely kept narrow to excl......or a focus that's purposely kept narrow to exclude, or minimize the importance of anything other then education, anything other then the teacher in the classroom.<BR/><BR/>One of my vast insights into the public education system is that the political nature of public education means education becomes just another among competing considerations.<BR/><BR/>Ironically, one of the most powerful and effective players is, of course, the teacher's unions. <BR/><BR/>While they necessarily pay lip service to the importance of education they're also one of the players that ensures that education is subordinated to other considerations, in this case the job security and benefits packages of teachers. The reason it's ironic that the teacher's unions are so effective is that by reducing the importance of education, of learning, the unions also reduce the importance of teaching.<BR/><BR/>Where this observation bears on the relationship between socio-economic status and educational quality is that poor people aren't as likely to be politically active or politically influential.<BR/><BR/>Since parents are the only group that has any legitimate claim to be concerned primarily with the education kids get the connection between low socio-economic status and lousy education ceases to be a mystery and becomes a mundane political equation. The people who, by the amount of money they've got, by the education they've got, by their location on the socio-political pecking order are least like to directly effect political discussions are the people who are most likely to want poor kids to get a good education.<BR/><BR/>None of that means that a poor kid can't get a good education but like the proverbial Kentucky Derby winner who's "out of Texas by truck", it's not the way the smart money bets.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-50329298005188686912009-02-10T09:31:00.000-08:002009-02-10T09:31:00.000-08:00Thanks Darren, that's what I thought you meant."Pa...Thanks Darren, that's what I thought you meant.<BR/>"Parents have to be educated, they have to be taught *how* to help their kids succeed."<BR/>I agree. I work in an urban kindergarten class, with a low SES, and it's obvious the kids who get read to and talked to, and the kids who spend all their time in front of a tv. The former are reading, or ready to read, and most of the latter still can't identify all the letters. Of course, many of our families are immigrants, so English is not spoken at home. Even then, you can tell which kids are being read to in their native languages.<BR/><BR/>If parents don't think education/learning etc is important, kids pick up on that pretty quick and form similar attitudes.teachergirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18136315147636795720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-73859361107247967502009-02-10T06:32:00.000-08:002009-02-10T06:32:00.000-08:00There are many successful, though isolated, cases,...There are many successful, though isolated, cases, and in every one of them there's a wider focus than just the teacher in the classroom.Darrenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15730642770935985796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-56462518562901321092009-02-10T05:33:00.000-08:002009-02-10T05:33:00.000-08:00The evidence in support of a link between low SES ...The evidence in support of a link between low SES and low performance may be too overwhelming to ignore but phenomena like Downtown College Prep, and many other, similar schools, makes it clear that the situation is more complex then poor parents = poor performance.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-42069963968492522142009-02-09T22:10:00.000-08:002009-02-09T22:10:00.000-08:00The link between low SES and low performance is to...The link between low SES and low performance is too overwhelming to ignore. There exists a "culture of poverty" which is just as real and just as powerful as "middle class culture" or "upper class culture". To say that it doesn't value education is probably accurate.<BR/><BR/>Yes, it can be overcome. But it takes work outside of the school to make it happen. Parents have to be educated, they have to be taught *how* to help their kids succeed.Darrenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15730642770935985796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10348701.post-74787409037437229782009-02-09T22:02:00.000-08:002009-02-09T22:02:00.000-08:00"The problem isn't the school, it's the culture."C..."The problem isn't the school, it's the culture."<BR/><BR/>Could you elaborate on that a bit?teachergirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18136315147636795720noreply@blogger.com